A player putting his name in the transfer portal does not guarantee he is leaving his school as NCAA rules allow Tagovailoa the option of staying put with no effects to his scholarship at Alabama. But it is the first step for a player who does ultimately transfer and allows other schools to see that Tagovailoa is interested in leaving Alabama.

Taulia Tagovailoa ended season as No. 2 QB

Taulia was Alabama’s No. 3 QB to start the season and saw limited playing time throughout the year. He moved up to No. 2 on the depth chart after Tua’s season-ending hip injury against Mississippi State. When Tua went down, Mac Jones stepped in as Alabama’s starting quarterback.

Jones played well. He was 97-of-141 passing for 1,503 yards and threw 14 touchdowns and three interceptions. Taulia Tagovailoa threw 12 passes all season.

Jones enters the 2020 season as the favorite to start while Tagovailoa figured to compete with Bryce Young and others for the No. 2 job. Young signed with Alabama in the class of 2020 as a five-star recruit. He was rated the top dual-threat QB in the country and the No. 2 player in the entire class according to Rivals.

Former 4-star recruit

Taulia Tagovailoa was a four-star recruit and rated as the No. 9 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2019 according to Rivals. He came to Alabama as the Tagovailoa family relocated to the Tuscaloosa area while he was in high school. The Hawaii native finished his high school career in Alabaster, Alabama, and became the first high school QB in the state to have four 400-yard passing games in his career. He also led Thompson High School to a 2018 state title.